Gino Hernandez
ジノ・ヘルナンデス |image= Hernandez_WY_DT.png |nationality=Italian |birthday=February 4 |height = 181cm, 180cm (BWY), 178cm (JBC) |weight = 75kg, 75kg (BWY), 72 kg (JBC) |blood_type=O |occupation= |position=Goalkeeper |other_names=Perfect Keeper |relationships= |first_appearance= |current_level_1= |current_team_1= |current_level_2=Club |current_team_2=Inter Milan |past_level_1=U-21 |past_team_1=U-21 Italy |past_level_2=U-20 |past_team_2=Italy Youth |past_level_3=Club (Youth section) |past_team_3=Inter Primavera |past_level_4=Club (Youth section) |past_team_4=Inter Juniores |past_level_5=U-16 |past_team_5=Italy Jr. Youth }} (ジノ・ヘルナンデス, jino herunandesu), sometimes called Zino Hernandez and Gino Fernandez, is Italy's keeper, captain and the key player of the national team. He wears the number 1 jersey. Description first appeared in ''Captain Tsubasa'' (1981) ch.86 "Greeting From an Old Enemy". When first introduced, Hernandez was very confident in his own abilities and relatively smug - this is shown when he throws the ball straight back to Tsubasa, challenging him to try and get a goal with his Drive Shoot, and catches it successfully. His initial large amount of outward self-confidence is far from unfounded, seeing as he took no goals for an entire year and earning the moniker "Perfect Keeper". After he plays against Tsubasa during the Japan Jr. vs. Italy Jr. match, however, his overflowing confidence is replaced by a much more humble and amiable mentality, becoming more open-minded. that Gentile is merely excited]] When he meets Aoi for the first time, they talk about their perceptions of and experiences with Tsubasa, quickly becoming very close friends as they played more together during their time together in Inter Primavera. He is shown to be calm in most scenarios, and steps in when Salvatore Gentile and Aoi have a quarrel during the party before the World Youth tournament. Hernandez reassures Aoi that Gentile is merely excited to play against him, rather than looking down on him in order to help diffuse the situation. He is usually seen with a slight smile when not on the field, on the quieter side with a level-headed temperament. He also has faith in his friends' abilities, as shown by him warning Gentile about underestimating Aoi. Whether or not Hernandez was as considerate, sympathetic, or friendly as he is shown to be during the World Youth tournament when he was younger is unknown, but going with the trend throughout Captain Tsubasa of how those who play against Tsubasa tend to change for the better after a game against him, Hernandez was probably much more distant or harsh. When Italy loses to Uruguay in the tournament, Aoi jumps into the field and demands angrily why they lost and therefore also lost their opportunity to "duel", both Hernandez and Gentile begin to cry silently, Gentile apologizing to Aoi before they leave, ashamed. Hernandez prefers to keep up to his word. Hernandez has a sense of pride throughout all his appearances during the series' run-time as Italy's goalkeeper, wanting to live up to his nickname as the "Perfect Keeper". However, much like all other opponents Japan and Tsubasa have played against, he has good sportsmanship, willing to admit when he has lost to Japan and accept it, but this same behavior has not been seen from him toward any other team. None of his family has been introduced or mentioned but it can be assumed he is of the working class with an ordinary home life. Hernandez, much like other members of the Golden Generation, was likely born in 1982 if he is the same age as Tsubasa, who was married at 20 years old presumably in 2002. Appearance Hernandez is an Italian male with relatively pale skin and sky blue eyes. The color of his hair depends on the adaptation, but is most commonly seen as blond in the manga, the Road to 2002 anime, and both of the mobile games (Dream Team and Miracle Shot). He is depicted with brown and black hair in some of the other anime adaptations but it seems to be more widely agreed that he has blond hair. Much like the other characters, he has broad shoulders and a strong frame. His short hair is parted in the middle, half swept to his right. Biography Prior to the J Boys' Challenge arc Before participating in the International Jr. Youth Tournament, Hernandez was universally believed to be Europe's No. 1 goalkeeper, and one of the best of the world; he had made an outstanding record of taking no goals for an entire year. The last goal he had taken was from Karl Heinz Schneider, during a friendly match with Hamburg Jr. Youth, which ended 1-1. J Boys' Challenge arc European Friendlies Hernandez only first appears as a silhouette, watching the match between All Japan Jr. Youth and Hamburg; he has to leave in the middle of it, though. His identity is revealed after he saved Karl Heinz Schneider's sister, Marie Schneider, when the latter was about to be hit by the car with Munemasa Katagiri and Tsubasa Ozora on it. The next day, Italy has two scheduled friendly match, against Bremen Jr. Youth and Japan. During the match against Bremen, Hernandez saves all the shots done by the opponent, and starts a counter when Bremen's defense gets weaker, giving them the match's only goal. He and his teammates boycott the second match however, as they saw Japan's loss against Bremen earlier and decides that Japan is not a worthy opponent to play against. This angers Tsubasa, as he gets past all players of Italy before scoring against Hernandez with his Drive Shot. International Jr. Youth Tournament By chance, Italy's first opponent in the group stage is Japan. Hernandez first play is effortlessly catching Hikaru Matsuyama's Eagle Shot from a free kick; he then throws the ball straight at Tsubasa, challenging the latter and his Drive Shot. He manages to catch the Drive Shot perfectly with a two-step defense this time, much to Ken Wakashimazu's shock, who had only managed to repel it with his Shuto Defense. Since then, Japan attacks continuously, but Hernandez masterfully defends Italy's goal, catching everything that was thrown at him. As the first half ends, he tells his teammates that they'll go for their tactic as soon as the second half begins. As the second half begins, Italy start an attack, but it is seemingly stopped by Japan. Two of Japan's defenders go up after that, as Japan is eager to score. Hernandez wins the aerial duel with Kojiro Hyuga, but as he is outside of the penalty area, he has to release the ball, otherwise it will be a hand foul. Tsubasa jumps in, but Hernandez quickly kicks the ball forward, starting Italy break-back, taking advantage of the gap from the two defenders. Italy scores one goal thanks to that. That doesn't last however, as Taro Misaki enters after that, and Hernandez suffers a goal from Tsubasa and Misaki's combi play. Nevertheless, Hernandez remains calm, refusing to panic and instructing his team to revert to a defensive formation and aim for a draw. Hernandez's tactical proficiency proves to be a tough nut to crack, defending to the last, but in the end, Hyuga's Neo Tiger Shot both scores the winning goal for All Japan and destroys his Golden Right Hand. Hernandez then acknowledges the Japanese players' worth, and apologizes for his team's cavalier behavior. Because of Hernandez injury, he can't play the next game against Argentina Jr. Youth, and Italy is swiftly eliminated with a 0-5 loss. During the tournament's finals between Japan and West Germany, as Hernandez is watching from the stands, he is shocked seeing Deuter Müller's proficiency and almost-impregnable defense, which the latter reveals by catching the Drive Shot with just one hand, so much that Hernandez admits that Müller is in fact the better European goalkeeper, not him. He is relieved and thankful when Tsubasa and Misaki manage to score against the Phantom Keeper, proving he isn't invincible. Battle of World Youth arc Principe Del Sole - Aoi's Chapter During Shingo Aoi's first training in Inter, Hernandez manages to stop one of his shot, but Aoi puts the repelled ball into the goal nevertheless. After that, Hernandez becomes the first person in the Inter Juniores team to recognize Aoi's potential and determination; eventually, they become close friends. The other teammates however, especially Matteo, treat Aoi with contempt and even bullied him, to get him to leave. The final game of the Campionato Juniores Nazionali, which is also the last match of Hernandez in the Juniores division, is the Milan derby, Inter Juniores versus AC Milan Juniores. When the match only has 15 minutes left, AC Milan is awarded a penalty kick, which they succeed. Inter's coach Nicolas Bassi decides to put Aoi in. The Inter players send Aoi vicious balls like usual, but he handles those with ease. Hernandez then explains to Matteo that it's the result of Aoi's personal training, in order to change the meaning of Giapponese from 'someone who is bad at soccer' to 'someone who is good at soccer'. As Matteo also loves soccer, he finally accepts Aoi, as well as the rest of Inter. World Youth Tournament After being qualified from the European preliminaries, Italy Youth is coached by pro players from AC Milan how to do their tactic, Zone Press, in order to win the World Youth. For Hernandez, he is also bent on avenging his earlier loss and winning against Tsubasa. Italy ends up in the same group with Japan, Mexico and Uruguay. Their goal is to win the first two matches of the group stage before facing Japan in the last one. However, in the first match against Uruguay, Hernandez and Salvatore Gentile, the key players of the defensive-oriented team, are injured by Ryoma Hino's Tornado Shot, and Italy suffer a 2-3 loss. Without them, Italy is unable to qualify for the quarter-finals, only managing to tie against Mexico. In the match against Japan, with their team having taken 3 goals and the Italian supporters booing them, both him and Gentile insist on playing the last 15 minutes, wishing to show their fighting spirit to the last. The two give a strong performance, inspiring their team, and even almost managing to defend Italy's goal against Aoi's last attack despite their injuries; this way they regain the respect of the crowd. After that, Hernandez thanks Aoi for playing with all his strength. Road to 2002 arc Hernandez is only briefly mentioned in Road to 2002. He is now playing for the top team of Inter Milan in the Serie A. Rising Sun arc Hernandez has a brief appearance alongside Salvatore Gentile, in which both of them are watching a live TV football game between Olympic Japan and Olympic Germany. Techniques Trivia *In the Italian dub his name is variously translated : he is named either "Dario Belli" or "Luis Hernandez" and also "Gino Buffetti", the latter of which is clearly an homage to the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Gino could also refer to Gianluca Pagliuca, who played for Inter Milan, and was the starting goalkeeper for Italy before the emergence of Buffon. *His given name, Gino, can also be romanized as Dino (as seen in the last pages of the chapter 37 of the manga, where there was written "D. HERNANDEZ"), which is clearly a reference to another Italian goalkeeper, Dino Zoff. *Gino's name is exactly the same as American professional wrestler of Italian descent, Gino Hernandez, who was active during the 1970s and 1980s and whose name is also exactly the same when written in Japanese katakana. **'Zino Hernandez' is used in Captain Tsubasa: Tatakae Dream Team and Captain Tsubasa ZERO - Kimero! Miracle Shoot, possibly to avoid confusion or relation with the aforementioned wrestler Gallery |-|Color spread= International Jr tournament (CT).png|Italy Jr. (magazine cover) |-|SCT= Italy Jr (SCT).jpg|Italy in training uniform Tajima Hernandez ova4 (SCT) 1.jpg|Tajima interviewing Hernandez Italy ova5 (SCT) 4.jpg|Matsuyama shots to goal-net One Handed Catch ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|One-Handed Catch Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|Golden Right Hand vs Hyuga Perfect Catch ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|Perfect Catch successful One Handed Catch ova5 (SCT) 2.jpg|Golden Right Hand Perfect Catch ova5 (SCT) 2.jpg|Perfect Catch Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 2.jpg|Golden Right Hand vs 2nd Drive Shot Magnificent Dribble ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|Misaki's Magnificent Dribble Golden Combi ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|Golden Combi One-Two Golden Combi ova5 (SCT) 2.jpg|Golden Combi One-Two Gino (SCT).jpg|Hernandez tries to catch Misaki's header Golden Combi ova5 (SCT) 3.jpg|Misaki tricks Hernandez Golden Punch Left Hand ova5 (SCT) 1.jpg|Golden Punch Left Hand Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 3.jpg|Golden Right Hand Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 4.jpg|Golden Right Hand vs 3rd Drive Shot Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 5.jpg|Golden Right Hand vs Neo Tiger Shot Golden Right Hand ova5 (SCT) 6.jpg|Hernandez hurt by the Neo Tiger Shot Hernandez vs Neo Tiger Shot (SCT).jpg|Hernandez beaten by Neo Tiger Shot Italy ova5 (SCT) 9.jpg|Hernandez congratulating Japan |-|J= Aoi ep36 (J) 1.jpg|Aoi scores against Hernandez Gino Hernandez ep35 (J).png|Hernandez remembering Tsubasa Gino Hernandez ep36 (J) 1.jpg Italy Jr. Youth (1994).jpg|Italy Jr. (1994) Tsubasa vs Hernandez (Italy Jr).jpg|Hernandez vs Tsubasa Golden Gombi vs Hernandez.jpg|Hernandez vs Golden Combi Neo Tiger Shot (J).jpg|Hernandez vs Neo Tiger Shot Aoi and Gino Hernandez.jpg|Aoi & Hernandez Golden Right Hand ep37 (J) 1.jpg|Hernandez vs AC Milan Juniores AC Milar Juniores (PSX) 2.jpg|Hernandez vs AC Milar Juniores players |-|2001= Italy Jr (2001).jpg|Italy Jr. hernades02.jpg|Hernandez hernades03.jpg hernades04.jpg hernades05.jpg|Hernandez Hernades05.jpg|Hernandez Neo Tiger Shot vs Hernandez ep24 (2001) 1.jpg|Hernandez vs Neo Tiger Shot |-|Art= Italy_Shin_Captain_Tsubasa_early_colors.jpg|Italy Jr early colors (SCT) Hernandez JY.png Gino Italy (DT).png|Italy Jr. Youth hernandez.PNG hernandez 1.PNG Italy U20 (DT) 1.png|Italy Youth Italy U20 (DT) 2.png Hernandez Inter.png|Inter Hernandez InterPrim.png|Primavera Gino Hernandez Italy (DT) 1.png|Italy |-|Manga= Golden Right Hand ch91 (CT) 1.jpg|Hernandez beats Tsubasa's 2nd Drive Shot Golden Right Hand ch4 (BWY) 1.jpg|Hernandez vs AC Milar Juniores World Youth players ch46 (BWY) 1.jpg|World Youth tournament Gentile and Hernandez manga.png|'Gentile' & Hernandez Gentile Gino ch83 (RS).png|Gino and Gentile in Rising Sun External links Category:Minor/recurring characters Category:Keepers Category:Players from Italy Category:Players of Serie A Category:Players of Campionato Primavera 1 Category:Characters introduced in J Boys' Challenge arc